17 Now there was a great number of women, more than there was of men; therefore king Limhi commanded that every man should aimpart to the support of the bwidows and their children, that they might not perish with hunger; and this they did because of the greatness of their number that had been slain.
18 Now the people of Limhi kept together in a body as much as it was possible, and secured their grain and their flocks;
19 And the king himself did not trust his person without the walls of the city, unless he took his guards with him, fearing that he might by some means fall into the hands of the Lamanites.
20 And he caused that his people should watch the land round about, that by some means they might take those priests that fled into the wilderness, who had stolen the adaughters of the Lamanites, and that had caused such a great destruction to come upon them.
21 For they were desirous to take them that they might apunish them; for they had come into the land of Nephi by night, and carried off their grain and many of their precious things; therefore they laid wait for them.
22 And it came to pass that there was no more disturbance between the Lamanites and the people of Limhi, *even until the time that aAmmon and his brethren came into the land.
23 And the king having been without the gates of the city with his guard, adiscovered Ammon and his brethren; and supposing them to be priests of Noah therefore he caused that they should be taken, and bound, and cast into bprison. And had they been the priests of Noah he would have caused that they should be put to death.
24 But when he found that they were not, but that they were his brethren, and had come from the aland of Zarahemla, he was filled with exceedingly great joy.
26 Nevertheless, they did find a land which had been peopled; yea, a land which was covered with dry abones; yea, a land which had been peopled and which had been destroyed; and they, having supposed it to be the land of Zarahemla, returned to the land of Nephi, having arrived in the borders of the land not many days before the bcoming of Ammon.
27 And they brought a arecord with them, even a record of the people whose bones they had found; and it was engraven on plates of ore.
29 Yet Ammon and his brethren were filled with sorrow because so many of their brethren had been aslain;
30 And also that king Noah and his priests had caused the people to commit so many sins and iniquities against God; and they also did mourn for the adeath of Abinadi; and also for the bdeparture of Alma and the people that went with him, who had formed a church of God through the strength and power of God, and faith on the words which had been spoken by Abinadi.
31 Yea, they did mourn for their departure, for they knew not whither they had fled. Now they would have gladly joined with them, for they themselves had entered into a acovenant with God to serve him and keep his commandments.
32 And now since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him and keep his commandments.
33 And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had aauthority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy servant.
34 Therefore they did not at that time form themselves into a achurch, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now they were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness.
35 They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts; nevertheless they did prolong the time; and an account of their baptism shall be agiven hereafter.
* VERSE 22 (ABOUT 121 B.C.).
THE BOOK OF MOSIAH
CHAPTER 22
Plans are made for the people to escape from Lamanite bondage—The Lamanites are made drunk—The people escape, return to Zarahemla, and become subject to King Mosiah. About 121 B.C.
1 And now it came to pass that Ammon and king Limhi began to consult with the people how they should adeliver themselves out of bondage; and even they did cause that all the people should gather themselves together; and this they did that they might have the voice of the people concerning the matter.
2 And it came to pass that they could find no way to deliver themselves out of bondage, except it were to take their women and children, and their flocks, and their herds, and their tents, and depart into the wilderness; for the Lamanites being so numerous, it was impossible for the people of Limhi to contend with them, thinking to deliver themselves out of bondage by the sword.
3 Now it came to pass that aGideon went forth and stood before the king, and said unto him: Now O king, thou hast hitherto hearkened unto my words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the Lamanites.
4 And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an unprofitable servant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to my words in any degree, and they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou wouldst listen to my words at this time, and I will be thy servant and deliver this people out of bondage.
6 Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of the city. The Lamanites, or the aguards of the Lamanites, by night are bdrunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people that they gather together their flocks and herds, that they may drive them into the wilderness by night.
The way the people of King Limhi came to view baptism as described in verse 35 is so touching. Our 2nd daughter is going to be baptized in August and I have been talking with her about what it means for her. We discussed the well known verses from Mosiah chapter 18 that were in our reading a few days ago. I also want to read her this verse because it is so simple and straight forward. These people just wanted to be baptized as a witness that they would serve God with all their hearts.
When I was growing up my father was a mission president in Eastern Canada. We had all sorts of missionary activity in our home all the time! There were zone conferences, visiting General Authorites, missionaries spending the night on their way in from the MTC or on their way home, and much more! One of my favorite things we had were "cottage meetings." They were every Wednesday night in the mission home basement and people who were learning about the church would come with the missionaries who were teaching them. Most of the time we had a prayer, sang a hymn, watched a church movie (How Rare a Posession ring a bell, anyone?) and then people could ask questions while dessert was served. A lot of people came through our home in those three years! I was always on kitchen duty and I remember wondering why my parents were making our family do so much work.
Now I know. Mom and Dad were just happy to share the gospel with anyone who would listen. They did all of this because they knew the importance of baptism. They were honoring their baptismal promises and providing a way for any who were seeking to make the same promise and commitment to our God.
The way the people of King Limhi came to view baptism as described in verse 35 is so touching. Our 2nd daughter is going to be baptized in August and I have been talking with her about what it means for her. We discussed the well known verses from Mosiah chapter 18 that were in our reading a few days ago. I also want to read her this verse because it is so simple and straight forward. These people just wanted to be baptized as a witness that they would serve God with all their hearts.
When I was growing up my father was a mission president in Eastern Canada. We had all sorts of missionary activity in our home all the time! There were zone conferences, visiting General Authorites, missionaries spending the night on their way in from the MTC or on their way home, and much more! One of my favorite things we had were "cottage meetings." They were every Wednesday night in the mission home basement and people who were learning about the church would come with the missionaries who were teaching them. Most of the time we had a prayer, sang a hymn, watched a church movie (How Rare a Posession ring a bell, anyone?) and then people could ask questions while dessert was served. A lot of people came through our home in those three years! I was always on kitchen duty and I remember wondering why my parents were making our family do so much work.
Now I know. Mom and Dad were just happy to share the gospel with anyone who would listen. They did all of this because they knew the importance of baptism. They were honoring their baptismal promises and providing a way for any who were seeking to make the same promise and commitment to our God.
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